Batman and Robin By Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely

I admit that I'm not the biggest fan of Grant Morrison's run on Batman so far. Reading both the books and subsequent interviews with the man himself, I find my impression of him wandering between cleverness and pretentiousness. I like mysteries and symbolism as much as the next reader, but the obfuscation of it feels like it excludes everyone except the dedicated reader. Thankfully, despite being a direct continuation of that run, Morrison's new series is a completely different beast. Abandoning the overcomplicated plot of his past issues, Morrison tries to invoke the simple, linear storytelling of his work in the excellent All-Star Superman.

For those who don't read the news, Batman is dead (well, sealed in another dimension. DC obfuscated his fate to increase sales). So Dick Grayson (aka Robin/Nightwing), is the new Batman, and Bruce Wayne's son, Damien (a character created by Morrison), is the new Robin. With a minimal amount of text, Dick Grayson's discomfort behind the Batman cowl is well-demonstrated without making him feel too ineffective as Batman. As a man clearly afraid of not living up to such a mythic figure, it's compelling to see if it will become his undoing. Damien, on the other hand, sounds as ridiculous and unnatural as he ever did in previous Batman stories. It feels like he's channeling Jeph Loeb, being brash and arrogant as a misunderstood attempt at "cool". Okay, to be fair, he's not as annoying in this issue as he has been, but the underlying problems are still apparent. Damien could very well be the most unpopular Robin since Jason Todd, and I would honestly not be surprised if for a bit of fun, Morrison engineered a reader vote for his fate.

With new heroes, Batman & Robin #1 also introduces a new group of villains; the Circus of Strange. The issue begins with new villain Mr. Toad driving an old-fashioned car recklessly down a tunnel to escape from the cops, when a now-flying Batmobile catches up and blows him off the road. I really like this scene for its stylistic flare. Frank Quitely's art evokes 1950s sci-fi with the flying Batmobile, and the heavy use of streak-lines to reflect the speed is very effective for such a simplistic chase scene. It's a shame that Quitely's art isn't so consistently good elsewhere in the issue. As soon as Mr. Toad's in prison, the art for some reason becomes sketchy and is simply not appealing to look at. Later on, we're introduced to a man on fire and the leader of the Circus himself, Pyg, who puts doll masks on people in order to transform them into his slaves. This would have been amazing if it wasn't so cliche. Morrison did literally nothing to develop the character into something new and exciting, and I was left wanting more. Perhaps next issue...

Overall, I liked the direction that Morrison took with the writing, but I feel he went too far. If you make writing too minimal, it becomes increasingly expositional, and that's exactly what happened here. Still, I found myself re-reading the issue several times (not something I do very often) and I can happily recommend it.